Folding umbrella



LfK, SELDEN, OF I:`l'AD,]I)Al\fI,.CONNECTIGUT.AY

I l rdLmNe UMB-RELLA.

Specification of LettersPatent No. 16,340, dated January 6, 1857.

To all 'whom-'ity may concern:

Be it knownthat I, L. K. g SELDEN, of Haddam, in the county-of-MiddleseXand State of'Connecticut, have;Y invented 'a new and Improved PortableVor Folding Umbrella; and I do hereby; declare that the following is afull, clear, and-exact description of the same, referencebeing had totheaccompanying drawings, makinga paartfof this specification, inwhichFigure l, isa vertical section of'my improvement, 'the umbrella being inan open or distended state. Fig. 2, is also a verticalV section ofditto, the umbrella'being folded or in a closed state..

Similar letterszof referenceindicat'e corresponding partsin the'twofigures.

My invention consists in the employment or use of jointed-bracesattached to the inner ends of the ribs and to the stretchers and also tothe upper end of the stick or handle, as will be hereinafter fully shownand de scribed, whereby the umbrella may be folded within a short space,andjthe use o'f the catch or fastening for keeping the ribs distended,dispensed with. i

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe Ait.

A represents the handle orstick which is provided with a slide B. vThehandle is jointed at a, the joint being constructed in any `proper way.

C, represents the cover to which the ribs D, are attached. These ribsare quite short,

extending about half way between the edge of the cover and the upper endof the handle.

E, are the stretchers, the outer ends of which are pivoted to the ribsD, at a short distance from their upper ends. The inner ends of thestretchers are pivoted to the slide B. To the upper ends of the ribs D,braces F, are pivoted, and the inner ends of these braces are pivoted at2),to braces G. The upper ends of the braces G are pivoted to the upperend of the stick A and the lower ends of said braces Gr, are pivoted tothe stretchers Ff From the above description of parts it will be seenthat the ribs D, are firmly supported and kept properly in-place by thestretchers E, and braces F, G, and that the ribs are distended and.closed by raising and lowering the Sua@ B. Ywhen the ribs are closed,the upper or central-portion of the cover folds within the outerportion, as

shown in Fig. 2, v'the braces F, G, fold inward. Vhen the slide B, israised, and the ribs D, and cover C, distended, no catch is required tohold the slide inproper placeforV the braces F, G, are brought nearly inline and consequently the strain or thrustV acts upon the braces nearlyin line with their pivots. To close the umbrella, therefore, all that isrequired is merely to draw down the slide a trifle and the braces "beingthereby thrown out of line, the ribs. will readily fold. Anotheradvantageof the im-` provement is that the cover 'cannot be blown by thewind, inside out, as is frequently-the case with ordinary umbrellas.`When the wind acts forcibly against the inner side, the braces F, Gr,will bethrown out ofrline -with each other, and they 'will fold inwardleaving the wind to act against the` loose center portion of the cover.AThe slide B, may be immediately raised so as to again distend the vribsThis is anA important Afeature in the invention, because umbrellasareoften brolen or injured in consequence of being turned by suddengusts of wind. The ribs D, may be constructed of metal, whalebone orcane, and the stretchers and braces may be constructed of metal; VvTheimprovement is applicable to parasols as well as to umbrellas.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The braces F, G, connected by pivots b, and attached by pivots totheribs D, stretchers E and handle A as herein shown and described forthe purpose set forth.

L. K. SELDEN.

Witnesses CHAS. S. RUSSELL, I. E. SELDEN.

